LEGO Jurassic World Review

Welcome to LEGO Jurassic World, the latest LEGO instalment from developer Traveller’s Tales. Once again TT manages to capture the spirit of the source material while also injecting their unique brand of humor in every level and cutscene. In LEGO Jurassic World, you play Dr. Alan Grant, Dr. Ellie Sattler, Owen Grady, and many others as you relive their epic journey from classic Jurassic Park films.

For those who may have missed the dozen plus LEGO games that have been released since LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Jurassic World follows the same formula as just about every LEGO game released. You play through classic moments from each of the various Jurassic films in LEGO form while breaking everything in sight, and rebuilding all the pieces into something new. There are a total of twenty levels in the story mode, and each level takes a scene from one of the four Jurassic films and condenses them into a bite size adventure.

Along the way you’ll switch between different characters from the films, solve puzzles, battle dangerous dinosaurs, and even dig through dinosaur droppings to search for items that you need to complete a task. The game does a great job of recreating classic moments from the films, and it captures the nostalgic feelings of watching the movies as a kid again through the cutscenes and soundtrack taken from the films themselves.

Much of this isn’t new to veterans of the LEGO games. The main feature that sets LEGO Jurassic World apart from previous games is the ability to play as various dinosaurs in the game. You’ll get to play some of the smallest creatures like the Compsognathus, ferocious Velociraptors, and of course the mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex. The dinosaurs look quite authentic, and at first glance their inclusion feels like a breath of fresh air in the LEGO games.

Unfortunately these dinosaurs are mainly used to solve puzzles or break things that a human character cannot break. Most of the dinosaurs feel slow and difficult to move around in, so I ended up using them mainly to break down cracked walls or pull switches. Even though there are flying dinosaurs and sea based dinosaurs that you can use in the free roam, their availability is limited to small enclosed sections of the island.

Because of this I used the dinosaurs only when I really needed to, which is a shame since I really wanted to spend the majority of my time playing as the various dinosaurs and exploring the islands through their perspective instead of a human character. Thus, the inclusions of dinosaurs in this game felt more shoehorned rather than a novel or essential part of the gameplay.

The game also suffers from some minor glitches that may cause quests not to appear appropriately, or trophies/achievements not unlocking when they should be which was a bit frustrating. Most of the puzzles are pretty simple and easy to solve, but there were a few that offered little direction on how to get past them. Often it was because a character had an ability that was needed to open a door or fix an engine that the game didn’t do a good job of telling you they were capable of that.

AI partners and enemies are quite dumb as well, and will often find themselves punching at the air, getting stuck between platforms, or standing on top of hazardous areas. Needless to say the game is much less aggravating playing with a partner instead of the bird-brain AI.

Once you finish all twenty story missions in the game, you’ll have the opportunity to replay the levels in “Free Play” mode which grants you access to any character you’ve unlocked in the game that are needed in order to obtain all of the minikits and amber bricks (collectibles in the game). Players will also have the ability to explore the two massive islands from the films in the free roam mode in order to gather gold bricks, rescue workers trapped or in danger, help cure dinosaurs who are sick, and collect red bricks which activate score multipliers or other helpful perks.

These all add to an already fairly lengthy campaign, giving the game a good sense of replay value. While it may seem overwhelming at first, the thought of just going after one more gold brick is enough to keep me going up into the late hours of the night.

On the whole, LEGO Jurassic World delivers on pretty much everything you’d expect from a LEGO game. While it still follows the same formula as its predecessors for the most part, it’s difficult to fault the game for being more of the same when it’s still a whole lot of fun to play through, especially on co-op. However, those have may have felt a bit fatigue from all the previous LEGO games may not be inclined to pursue this game, as it does little to change the style and gameplay.

Traveller’s Tales has a knack for showing a wealth of knowledge of the source material and treating it with respect, and LEGO Jurassic World is no exception. The twelve hour story was a hilarious and engaging trek through Isla Nublar and Isla Sorna. Jurassic World does a great job of recreating some of the most memorable moments in each film through the cutscenes and gameplay. Coupled with musical scores from the films as well, and you’ve got a great recipe for an authentic Jurassic Park experience.

LEGO Jurassic World

7.5

Overall Game Rating

8/10

Pros

Captures the look and feel of the Jurassic Park films well

Solid visuals in the characters and locations

Fun and easy gameplay

Cons

About Will So

Will is an avid Xbox gamer who loves all things gaming. When he’s not getting his game on, he’s likely watching whatever sports game is on, playing tennis or soccer with friends, or catching up on the latest fantasy film/show.